What Men Want
by Kwewe
Summary: Switching this story to a different profile Well THAT wasn't supposed to happen! Erin is transported to the DBZ world in a most unusual way, and that isn't it! She is a rabid fangirl who somehow gains the ability to hear men's thoughts! This could prove t
1. CRAP!

Erin walked through the front door and slammed her backpack on the ground. "Today SUCKED!" she screamed. Her math teacher had gone all psychotic again after Erin had picked up her stapler. The teacher seemed to have a fetish with that particular object, she had even gone so far as to glue tacks to the bottom of it so that if you picked it up you would be stabbed! Erin sighed. School truly was torture of the worst kind. What kind of cruel sadistic person invented that?! You had to go for about seven hours a day to a place with ugly carpets, bad lighting, and people who seemed to have permanent wedgies, and you didn't even get paid!  
  
GRRR!  
  
She sweatdropped. Her stomach had decided to let her know that, once again, she was hungry. Walking into the kitchen, she immediately went to the refridgerator and looked inside. Nothing. She kicked it. "Stupid fridge!" She kicked it a little too hard and immediately jumped back, hopping on one foot, and cradling the other while rubbing it to soothe the pain.  
  
Oh well. A perfectly HORRIBLE end to a perfectly HORRIBLE day. She would have to wait until tomorrow for food since her parents were on a short vacation without her. She punched the fridge once more out of anger and sighed.  
  
CREEEAAAK  
  
She looked towards the fridge. What was that noise? Then she noticed it, the bowling pin effect was going on. It wobbled back and forth, each time going further and further, then it seemed to stop. Sighing with relief she turned around to walk away.  
  
CRRREEEEEEEAAAAAK!  
  
Erin turned around just in time to see the fridge topple over to land directly on top of her.  
  
Slowly Erin became aware of her surroundings. First she was aware of her sense of feeling. Her head HURT! She groaned, today was not her day. Then she was aware of a breeze; now why would there be a breeze when she was inside her house? Then she remembered what had happened. She bolted upright and then immediately regretted the move, it sent a sharp, blinding pain throughout her entire body. Shutting her eyes tightly she put her head in her hands and waited for the pain to subside. About thirty seconds later she opened her eyes and just about peed her pants. She was on top of a roof, a very TALL roof.  
  
"AAAAHHHHH!"  
  
Erin flattened her body to the roof and clung to what little she could for dear life. She was going to die, she just knew it. She was going to fall off and die some horrible death, and then she would be in the newspapers. They would probably think she committed suicide and there would be a whole article entitled, 'Teenager leaps to her death while parents are on vacation'. She could see it all now.  
  
She tried to look at her surrounding and figure out whose roof she was on. Had she been kidnapped while she was unconscious? But who would put her on top of a roof? And more importantly, why didn't the fridge kill her? Why did it fall in the first place? It had stopped rocking, and then for no reason at all, just fell! Too many questions that she didn't want to think about until AFTER she was off the roof.  
  
She looked up and saw a football. Well, she might as well alert the owner of the building that she was up there so that they could help her down. Reaching out she tried to grab a hold of it, but it was just inches out of her reach. She sighed. GREAT! Just GREAT! She was actually going to have to move to grab it. Erin closed her eyes tightly and tried to control her breathing, it wasn't working. She opened her eyes again and slowly inched forward. It was a good thing she was wearing jeans today and not some god- awful skirt or something of the sort. Reaching out, she was just barely able to touch it with the tips of her fingers. Flicking her fingers so that it rolled towards her, she finally had the football.  
  
She grabbed it tightly and peered over the edge of the roof. It was a looooong way down. She chucked it towards a window, causing it to break though it, and waited. Then she heard yelling. It was coming from a man who did NOT sound too happy.  
  
"WHO THREW THAT?!?! I SWEAR IF I CATCH THE BAKA I WILL BLAST THEM INTO OBLIVION!!!"  
  
Uh oh. It sounded like she hit somebody. Then the front door slammed open and she saw a short man with tall, spiky black hair come stomping out. She was a dead woman. She squeaked when her turned towards the roof and froze.  
  
"DID YOU THROW THAT?!" he screamed once again.  
  
"Um, sorry, I didn't mean to hit you, you see I just-" she was cut off by a large ki blast coming straight towards her head. Now she knew where she was. And now that she had a better look, who that man was. It was the one and only, prince of the Saijins. Oh yes, she was going to die. She just hit Vegeta with a football.  
  
"VEGETA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" came a loud female voice. Erin recognized it immediately as Bulma.  
  
'Thank Kami! I might not die now.' She thought.  
  
"THIS BAKA THREW A FOOTBALL AT ME!" Vegeta yelled at his wife. It was then that Bulma looked up at the roof.  
  
"Oh, hello there. Um, what are you doing on our roof??" Bulma asked.  
  
"Well you see, it's kinda a long story."  
  
"Oh, well you can tell us after you get down from there. Just jump, Vegeta here will catch you."  
  
Erin paled. There was no way in HELL that she was going to trust Vegeta to catch her. "No that's alright, heh heh," She laughed nervously.  
  
"What's wrong?" Bulma asked, she was a bit worried. This girl could be some psycho, or maybe she was hurt and wasn't able to jump.  
  
"Well, I trust Vegeta about as far as I can throw him," she stated matter- of-factly.  
  
SSSSSSS  
  
That one was close. She had dodged that ki blast, but just barely. It singed her hair!  
  
"VEGETA! DON'T DO THAT!!!!" Bulma yelled at him again. He just ignored her and crossed his arms, that evil smirk appearing on his face. "Well, hold on then. I'll get someone else to catch you."  
  
"No, I don't wanna-" too late. Bulma already left to go get somebody. She sighed, still clinging onto the roof for dear life. She eyed Vegeta nervously as he walked back into the house, no doubt to either eat or train. Bulma came back a couple of seconds later with a man who looked to be about nineteen years old. It was.....HIM.  
  
"Trunks?!" she screeched, nearly passing out. He turned to her sharply.  
  
"How did you know my name?" he asked her suspiciously.  
  
"Um, heh heh. Bulma told me she was going to get you?" she said, even though it sounded more like a question.  
  
"I did? Hmm, that's strange. I don't remember telling you that. I don't remember telling you my name either.  
  
"Yeah, strange. Hehe." 'Oh great stupid! Just make them even MORE suspicious!' she mentally chided herself.  
  
"Yeah, well anyways, here Trunks will catch you. Go ahead and jump."  
  
"Um, no thanks. I don't really feel like jumping off of a roof today."  
  
"What? You don't trust Trunks?"  
  
"No it's not that...it's just that..well...I'm afraid of heights," Erin blushed.  
  
"Oh, it's okay, Trunks will catch you, you have nothing to worry about!" Bulma said.  
  
Trunks decided to join. "Yeah come on, I promise I won't drop you!"  
  
"No." there was no way in hell.  
  
"Please?" he tried. She thought for a moment, getting a very, uh, thoughtful look on her face.  
  
"Let me think...NO!"  
  
"Come on, I'm not gonna hurt you!" This didn't sound like chibi at all. Could it be? No, of course not. But maybe...was this.....MIRAI?!  
  
"Are you Mirai or chibi?" woops, wasn't supposed to say that!  
  
"How did you know about that?"  
  
"I'll explain later, just answer me. You're Mirai aren't you?!" she was going into giddy teenager mode at the thought.  
  
"Yeah, how did you know?"  
  
"Oh, you just don't act like chibi!" Both Bulma and Trunks were giving her very odd looks. Woops again! It just kind of slipped!  
  
"Well, I have some questions for you. But first, get down here." Trunks held out his arms for her to jump into.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Fine then, I'll fly up there and get you!"  
  
"NO!!! Don't do that!" too late. He blasted off the ground and was floating level with the roof before she could blink. Her eyes darted around wildly as she looked for an escape route. Seeing as how she was about three stories up though, there was none. Then something caught her eye. A satellite dish. With speed born of desperation she jumped to it and wrapped her arms and legs around it, clinging for dear life. He looked at her impatiently and flew over to the satellite dish, then began to try to pry her off. For such a little thing boy did she have a good grip!  
  
He grabbed her waist and pulled. Then he pulled harder. The whole dish was bending over but she still hadn't budged an inch. He sighed and decided to try again, this time pulling a lot harder than before.  
  
CRACK! SNAP!  
  
The whole satellite dish popped off the roof as she let go and plopped back down onto it.  
  
"Okay, now come on." Trunks said a little more forcefully, as though talking to a child.  
  
"Hey! I'm not a kid anymore! For your information I am eighteen years old!!"  
  
While she was distracted he grabbed for her. She caught this and went to dive for the satellite dish, which was no longer there. Instead her hands were met with exposed wires. Uh oh. Too late to stop, she already had too much momentum. She landed, arms outstretched, right on top of the exposed wires.  
  
ZZZZZZZZZZ  
  
"AAAAHHHHH!" she screamed as she was zapped by it. Then darkness claimed her.  
  
Slowly her senses resurfaced again. What was with so much pain today? At least that weird dream was over! Although she couldn't say that she would mind living in the DBZ world too much. She yawned and sat up, slowly opening her eyes. They were met by a pair of blues eyes that definitely didn't belong to anybody SHE knew.  
  
"AAAAHHHH!" she screamed once again. Her voice was becoming hoarse from all of this yelling!  
  
"AAAAAHHHH!" the voice screamed while jumping back in surprise.  
  
Erin breathed hard and clutched at her heart. "Don't DO that!" she said, sounding exasperated. Then se took a good look at the person. She groaned. Oh, god. She wasn't dreaming. There, sitting beside her, was the man of her dreams, Mirai Trunks.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah. What happened?"  
  
"Well, you decided to jump for the satellite dish, which had been ripped out, and instead you grabbed some wires."  
  
"Oh yeah. Hehe, no wonder I have a buzz!"  
  
"What a weird girl!"  
  
"Hey you don't need to say it right in front of me!"  
  
"What? I didn't say anything!"  
  
"Yeah whatever."  
  
"OOOOKAY. I think maybe she was zapped for a little too long. She really IS strange." Trunks "said".  
  
"HEY! I'M RIGHT HERE YOU KNOW! You're not very nice insulting me right infront of my face!"  
  
He gave her an odd look. She stared right back at him.  
  
"Great now she's hearing things!"  
  
Erin blanched. She just heard that, but his lips didn't move. Wait a second, she had seen a movie like this! The guy was able to hear what women were thinking! She thought she was going to pass out.  
  
"Hey are you okay? You look pale all of the sudden!"  
  
She tried to find her voice. "Heh heh, I can hear what you're thinking!" and with that, she passed out. 


	2. CRAP! Not again!

Erin woke up feeling warm and rested. She opened her eyes and wanted to go back to sleep. Now not only Trunks was there but so was Bulma, chibi, and Goten.  
  
"Hi guys!" she said, trying to sound cheerful. They all looked towards her.  
  
"Hello dear," Bulma said. "Trunks here told me you were hallucinating before you passed out. Is that right?"  
  
"Oh what a babe!" Erin turned towards Goten and gave him an evil glare.  
  
"What? What did I do?" Goten asked.  
  
"I heard that!" she said.  
  
"Dear, Goten didn't say anything." Bulma said soothingly.  
  
"No, but he thought it." She stated matter-of-factly while crossing her arms. They all looked at her like she was crazy.  
  
"What a whacko!" chibi thought.  
  
"I am not a whacko!" Erin yelled at him. He sweatdropped.  
  
"Wh-What did you say?" he asked.  
  
"You know perfectly well what I said!"  
  
"Okay, you think you can read minds prove it!" Goten said.  
  
"Fine! Think about something!" she said. Goten got a look of concentration on his face.  
  
"WOAH! I really didn't want to know that about Trunks!!!" she screamed.  
  
"AAAHH!" Goten screamed out of shock.  
  
"Know what?!" Both Trunks asked simultaneously.  
  
"Oh, nothing. Hehe." Goten said nervously, scratching the back of his head.  
  
"Did she get it right Goten?" Bulma asked.  
  
"Uh, yeah she did."  
  
"WOW! That is sooooo cooool!" Bra squealed from a doorway.  
  
"Bra how long have you been there?" Bulma asked.  
  
"Long enough! So tell me, Erin, would you be able to tell me what Goten REALLY thinks about me?" Bra walked over to her and sat down.  
  
"Well I suppose so, if he though about you." Goten looked like he was going to pee his pants now.  
  
"Uh, well, I gotta go now. See you later!" he ran out the door and took off. So much for that. Bra sighed in disappointment and walked off.  
  
"Hmm, would you be able to tell me what Vegeta is thinking?" Bulma asked with a mischievious look in her eye.  
  
Erin sighed. "Lead the way."  
  
Bulma led her to the kitchen where Vegeta was shoveling his face full of food.  
  
"Hey Vegeta?" Bulma asked innocently, sugar dripping off her voice.  
  
"What you do want woman?"  
  
"I was just wondering what comes to you mind when you hear my name."  
  
He got a thoughtful look on his face.  
  
They looked to Erin who was about to bust up laughing. "I think of the word annoying." He sneered.  
  
Bulma walked out of the kitchen and back to the living room. "So what did he REALLY think?" Bulma asked, her voice full of excitement. Erin burst out into laughter. By now the guys were looking at her curiously as well.  
  
"He thinks about how much he WUVS you and wants to CUDDLE you." Erin laughed some more. The mighty Prince actually thought THAT! HAHAHA!  
  
"WOW! This IS amazing! I'm gonna go to my lab to check up on this!" Bulma ran off, presumably to her lab.  
  
Erin looked at the guy and blinked owlishly. They stared back at her. "So..." She said. It was then that a woman with curly blond hair, little moon slits for eyes, and who was wearing a tube top and jeans walked out. It was Bulma's mom.  
  
"Would you like some tea dear?" she asked. Without waiting for a reply she began to pour some tea, not even noticing when it overflowed onto the tray, then onto the floor.  
  
"NYER!" Erin sweatdropped.  
  
................  
  
"I have no fear. Failure is not an option." The figure moved slowly behind a couch, crouching down. There was about a foot of space between the wall and the couch. The figure looked out from the other side cautiously, surveying the area. The room was dim and the curtains closed. There was a single beam of light in the center of the room where dust could be seen floating through the air. The figure looked to it's left, then right, and decided to make a dash for the hallway. It ran and slammed itself up against a wall, flattening itself out so as not to be seen. It looked down the hallway at the door as it slowly opened. A person stepped out and walked in the opposite direction, away from the firgure. 'Here's my chance!' It thought, while running for the door. It quickly turned the knob, stepped inside, and shut the door quietly. This mission was very important, if the figure was detected there would most likely be torture. The figure turned away from the door and looked about the brightly lit room. There it was, the dresser. Inside the dresser was a most prized object, one that could be found nowhere else, more important than the holy grail, rarer than diamonds, more beautiful than gold, more sought after than all the riches of the world, the object could be sold for millions, it was the holiest of the holy, more valued than life itself. Inside the dresser was Mirai Trunks boxers. Erin silently crept towards the dresser and tentatively opened the top drawer. There it was, the jackpot. She wiped her mouth as a slight amount of drool trickled out. Moving quickly she grabbed a pair of black silk boxers and shut the drawer, turning to walk out of the room.  
  
She froze. There were footsteps coming towards the door. She looked around for a hiding spot and quickly dove under the bed. She was barely pulling her feet in when the door opened. Turning so she could see who was there she smacked her head on the bottom of the bed.  
  
"ITAI!" (ouch in Japanese for those who didn't know) she said quietly. Trunks turned sharply towards the noise. She held her breath and didn't move. Just GREAT! He was going to find her there.  
  
'What was that?' she heard him think. 'Oh well, probably came from outside.'  
  
She let out the breath she was holding. Trunks turned away from the bed and Erin could hear a shuffling noise. She turned too look as him just in time to see his shirt drop to the floor, quickly followed by his pants. Erin could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks, then came her downfall. Floating to the floor, like a leaf in the wind, came the boxers. Trunks walked into his adjoining bathroom and closed the door. She scurried out from under the bed quickly and grabbed the pair of discarded boxers that Trunks had been wearing and dropped the ones she previously had. She was walking towards the door when she heard the knob to the bathroom door start to turn. Her eyes darted around madly, searching for a quick escape. The only place to hide was behind the bathroom door, which was opening. Would she have time? She ran over to the wall and once again flattened herself against it. The door swung open and slammed against her forehead.  
  
She fought back the urge to yelp and sucked in a sharp breath. Trunks stopped. She froze. 'Hmm. There's that weird noise again.' He shook his head and walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed. 'I think I'll go find Erin now. She mentioned something about wanting to train.' She blanched.  
  
He walked out his door and began making his way to her room. Erin jumped out from behind the bathroom door and began frantically running around in circles. 'WHAT DO I DO?! WHAT DO I DO?!' she screamed inside her head. There was no way she would be able to pass him and get to her room before he did. Just before she had snuck into his room she had told him that she would be in her room reading all day. She had PROMISED that she would be there, since they didn't want her roaming around and getting lost in their huge house.  
  
Erin continued to run around in circles until her foot caught on something.  
  
THUD!  
  
"ITAI!" she screamed as her already sore head hit the heel of a shoe that was laying on the ground.  
  
'What was that?!' she heard Trunks think. Erin quickly jumped up and looked around the room. Aha! The balcony. She ran outside and onto it just as Trunks ran into his room. He began to look around and she was about to panic once again. If he turned towards the balcony he would see her for sure! Then there would be some questions she didn't want to answer. The only place off was over the edge of the railing.  
  
Then a thought occurred to her. Her room was right next door to his. Their balconies were separated by about twelve feet. She could jump that. Right? She looked over to her balcony with trepidation. It was the only way. Erin slowly stepped up onto the rail and tried to balance, wobbling slightly from side to side, using her arms so as not to fall. In her concentration she didn't hear Mirai give up and walk towards her room.  
  
Looking at her balcony she prepared herself. 'Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look- SHIT! I looked down. I LOOKED DOWN!' she shut her eyes tightly and tried to focus on what she had to do. Without thinking about it she jumped. She felt so free. Just sailing through the air then she remembered that she had to grab onto something. She opened her eyes just in time to see the balcony railing falling away from her. With speed born of desperation she grabbed the very bottom of the railing with one hand.  
  
Her whole body jerked from the sudden stopping of movement. Erin reached up with her other hand and held on like nothing else mattered. Which, at the moment, nothing else did matter. She tried to swing her leg up over the edge so she could climb up. There was no way she had enough strength to just pull herself up. No use. Then she heard knocking on her door.  
  
"Erin? Are you in there?"  
  
"Yeah! Hold on just a sec!"  
  
With a new shot of adrenaline she quickly swung her leg up over the edge and pulled herself up. She was now standing on top of the railing. She sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. 'Hmm. I don't remember wearing a glove.' When she wiped her forehead she felt cloth. But that couldn't be right. Erin looked down at her hand, where Trunks boxers were located. 'Oh crap.'  
  
Because she was distracted she didn't notice that she was losing her balance. She felt herself falling forward and looked up just as the floor was rising to meet her.  
  
BAM!  
  
"Hey are you alright in there?" Trunks asked, a hint of worry in his voice.  
  
"MMF!" she grunted from her position on the floor. She was lying flat on her stomach with her face pressed into the concrete. She rolled over as the door began to creak open. Thinking fast she threw the boxers over the edge of the balcony.  
  
Trunks looked at her. She was lying on her back, on the balcony. She had a bruise on her forehead and her hair was completely messed up. He blinked. Then he blinked again.  
  
'What a strange girl' he thought.  
  
"I heard that!" Erin yelled across the room matter-of-factly. Then Trunks remembered that she could hear men's thought.  
  
"Yup, that's right Pretty Boy. I can hear what you're thinking. If you're close enough that is." She was still lying on the floor.  
  
Then there was a sudden loud noise, as though a thousand volcanoes were erupting all at once.  
  
"WHO THREW THESE BOXERS ON MY HEAD?! I'M GONNA KILL THEM WHEN I FIND THEM! AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!"  
  
Uh oh. That was Vegeta.  
  
Erin paled, one big sweatdrop appearing on the back of her head. 


	3. Not Dead, Need Air

Erin stood behind Trunks as they walked out to the gravity room so as to keep vegeta from seeing her. She was worried about what he might do if he found out she was the one who threw the boxers. Disembowel her most likely. They reached the gravity room and she stepped inside the large round machine.  
  
She stared at it, it was so plain. How could Vegeta stand to stay in this horrible place all the time??  
  
'What is she staring at?' Trunks thought.  
  
"It's just that this place is so ugly." Erin said. Trunks paled a bit, he had momentarily forgotten that she could hear what he was thinking, he was really going to have to be careful.  
  
"Yeah you are going to be careful. I saw what you dreamed last night you perv!"  
  
"WHAT?! I didn't dream anything! I swear!"  
  
"I didn't know you thought about Goten that way Trunks, I 'm really surprised at you." Erin turned her back to him and snickered, she knew he didn't REALLY dream that, but she had fun messing with his mind.  
  
"I don't think of Goten like that usually! It was just one time! I have never had a dream like that before! It doesn't mean I regularly think of him like that! Just one time I tell you! ONE TIME!!!" Trunks voice was now a high pitched squeak.  
  
Erin facevaulted and sweatdropped big time. She wasn't serious! EEEWWWW! He really DID dream about that! That was a mental image she didn't need. Erin shuddered and pretended Trunks hadn't just said what he did.  
  
"Yes.....Well...ahem.....Let's get on with the training shall we?"  
  
"Oh yeah, alright. Well how high a gravity can you withstand?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Um I dunno, I've never been in one of these things before. Let's try ten and see what happens. That can't be too bad right?"  
  
"That should be fine.Unless you're a complete weakling." Trunks smiled and walked over to the control panel, typing in 10 times earths gravity. He felt it increase slightly and heard a large bang. Quickly turning, he saw Erin pressed firmly against the floor by the force of the gravity.  
  
'Oh God I've killed her!' he thought.  
  
"Not.....dead.....need....air.....gravity....off...." Erin gasped. Trunks quickly reached over to the panel and hit the off button. Erin gasped for breath as the gravity returned to normal. Slowly, she picked herself up off the floor. "I think that ten is a bit much. How about .5 times Earth's normal gravity eh?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I think that would be better."  
  
'Jeez, humans are so fragile.  
  
"I am not fragile! Just give me a couple of weeks and I can be up to ten times earths normal gravity."  
  
'I doubt that.'  
  
"Well think what you will. I don't care if this is an ugly room I am going to train in here non-stop for two weeks. I'll only stop to eat and sleep." Erin puffed her chest out.  
  
'Now you sound like Vegeta.'  
  
"I don't care." She began to pout.  
  
"Well just don't hurt yourself." Trunks said.  
  
'Awwww. How cute.' Erin thought. 'He cares.'  
  
"So you're only going to stop to eat and sleep huh?" Trunks asked skeptically.  
  
"Well, and to change my underwear." Erin gave a cheeky grin. Tunks sweatdropped. 


	4. Don't Make Me Take Off My Shoe

Erin dropped to the ground and panted heavily. (not that you perverts!) "One...hundred...pushups....I'm starving! No wonder the Saiyans are always hungry! You burn a lot of calories doing this. I'm gonna have the body of a supermodel! I will be a complete babe! Unless I exercise too much then I'm going to be a butch woman....."  
  
"Ahem...." Trunks stared at Erin, he had heard her entire splurge. Erin blushed and stood up quickly.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Dinner is ready." Trunks said. 'She already has a nice body why should she worry?'  
  
Erin blushed furiously and pretended that she hadn't heard that. "Right...well..I'll be out in a second." Trunks walked out of the gravity room, then popped back in for a moment.  
  
"You know, it might help if you would actually turn the machine on...." Trunks gave a cheeky smile.  
  
Erin's face began to turn red while Trunks paled. "SHUT UP!" Erin screamed as she threw her shoe at him.  
  
BAM! It hit him square in the face and bounced off, leaving a large shoe shaped red spot on his face. He turned around and stalked off. 'Stupid girl.'  
  
Erin decided to let that one go. She walked out of the gravity room, picked up her shoe, and put it back on her foot, walking towards the kitchen. 'Hehe,' she thought, 'I guess maybe I'm not such a weakling.' She smiled triumphantly as she walked through the kitchen door.  
  
"What are you so happy about?" Bulma asked.  
  
"Oh nothing," Erin replied, smiling like a cheshire cat as she looked over to a sulking Trunks. Bulma looked at him and laughed.  
  
"Never mind then, I guess I shouldn't ask."  
  
Erin looked around the various people at the table, there was Bra, Bulma, Trunks, Goten, Pan, and....Vegeta. Veggie was staring directly at her. Erin laughed nervously and sat down. 'Does he know that I did all that stuff? Best not to think about what he'll do to me if he does...'  
  
"Could you pass the potatoes please?" She asked Pan. Pan picked up the bowl and tossed them across the table. Yes tossed. "Waaaaah!" Erin screamed as the bowl fell on the table right in front of her, splattering potatoes across the room. Erin looked up hesitantly to see who they hit. She came eye to eye with Vegeta.....  
  
Vegeta twitched, his eyebrow quivering in anger. Erin looked at the faces around the table. Everyone suddenly seemed very pale. Then as though they were one, everyone, including Erin, leapt up from the table and ran away from the kitchen. They all ran out the front door and waited in silence. There was no noise, not even a scream.  
  
Goku appeared in the kitchen of the Briefs residence. "Hey Vegeta, what's up? Vegeta? What's wrong? Why are you twitching like that? Um....Vegeta?"  
  
"KAKKARROT!!!!!!"  
  
Everyone outside paled even more as they heard a noise like thunder and someone screaming Kakkarrot at the top of their lungs. They hit the deck just as there was a bright flash of light and a loud boom.  
  
Erin looked up to see half of Capsule Corps gone. In its place was a massive, smoking crater. In the middle of the crater lay a smoldering Goku. "Jeez Vegeta. What did I do?" Goku squeaked out.  
  
Well there went the kitchen, now what was she supposed to eat? 


	5. Training and Twins

Erin sat up on the bed in her temporary room. She had finally gotten some food last night after Vegeta's little episode, so she was content when she woke up. She had really stuffed her face. Erin stood up and scratched her stomach, a very unladylike thing to do, but she didn't care. Erin walked over to her door and was about to turn the handle when a loud thump on it made her jump back.  
  
She stared at the door dumbly before her groggy mind registered that someone had knocked. "Yes?" she called to whoever was outside her door.  
  
"Erin? Are you awake?" the voice asked.  
  
"No, nope. I'm not awake. You're really talking to my answering machine."  
  
"Ha, ha, very funny," the voice replied sarcastically. Well this definitely wasn't Goten or Goku, otherwise they would have left a message.  
  
Erin opened the door and came face to, um, chest with Trunks. Damn that boy was tall. Erin looked up at him expectantly. Trunks smiled down at her pj's. Erin looked down.  
  
"What?" she asked him curiously.  
  
"I like your pajamas," he said, a smile still on his face. Erin knew that smile. He was laughing at her on the inside.  
  
'I can't believe that she sleeps in men's boxers' he thought.  
  
"So what if I sleep in them. They're comfortable," she pouted. "So, anyway, what is it that you wanted?"  
  
Trunks attention was suddenly brought back to the situation. "Oh yeah. Do you like kids?"  
  
Erin gave him a blank look that said what-the-hell-are-you-getting-at? He seemed to read her mind. 'Oh please just answer before I have to get to the actual point.'  
  
"You remember that I can hear you right?" she asked, a smile on her face.  
  
"Um. Oh yeah. So, anyway. DO you like kids or not."  
  
'La la la la la la la la....' she heard him chant in his mind, trying not to think about what he wanted her to do so that she wouldn't hear.  
  
"Could you kindly stop that?" she asked, exasperated, his la's beginning to annoy her.  
  
"Oh, sorry."  
  
"To answer you, yes I like kids. Kind of. It depends on what kinds of kids they are. Why?" she narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"Bulma wanted me to ask you-" he was cut off by Erin holding her hand up at him.  
  
"Wait a second. Anything that Bulma wants me to do, that she has to get YOU to ask me, is not good."  
  
Trunks looked at her for a moment before continuing. "Bulma wanted me to ask you if you could baby sit for us." He looked at her intently, waiting for an answer. Erin's face lost its suspicion and she laughed.  
  
"Is that all? Sure, I'll baby sit for you guys," she stopped laughing. Who is it that I have to baby sit exactly?" From what she recalled anyone who she might have to baby sit was all grown up.  
  
"You would have to baby sit Miki and Aki."  
  
Erin gave him a blank look. "Who are they?" she asked, completely lost.  
  
"Juhaachi gou's and Krillins twins."  
  
Erin never knew that they had any more kids. Oh well, they couldn't be that bad right? "How old are they?"  
  
"They are each four years old."  
  
Four year olds. They couldn't be too hard to handle. They were past their terrible twos and weren't quite at that pesky five year old thing yet. Erin nodded thoughtfully. "Ok, that's fine. Just one question."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Why can't one of you guys baby sit them?"  
  
"Well, you see, that's the thing." Trunks scratched the back of his head nervously. Hmm, she'd only ever seen the Son family do that. She guessed that he had picked it up from them. Erin waited for him to continue. "We're all going away. Everyone except for you and the twins. They're too young to go where we're going. We're going to a kind of training thing."  
  
Erin put a mild glare on her face. "Oh. I see how it is. You all want to go off to train and leave me and the twins here because you think that we can't do it! Well let me tell you something, I think that I could handle it for one think. And for two, if the twins are Krillins and Juhaachi Gou's children, they could probably kick my ass right now!" Erin placed her hands on her hips. Her and Trunks stared at one another for a few seconds before both of their faces cracked, smiles spreading across them.  
  
They both burst out into laughter. Erin's laughter began to subside first. She looked up at Trunks and smiled at him. "That's fine. I probably wouldn't be able to do half the stuff you guys could do anyway. But what about Bulma and Chichi? I don't think that they would want to train very much."  
  
"They're going on some sort of cruise. Don't want children with them, you know how it is with them."  
  
"So when do you guys leave?"  
  
"In about," he looked at his watch to check the time. "um, five hours?"  
  
Erin sweatdropped. "You waited until five hours before you left before you asked me if I would do it? What if I had said no?"  
  
"I knew you wouldn't."  
  
Erin sighed at him. "Fine then. But you have to make this up to me. You have to train with me for at least two hours before you leave. Okay?"  
  
Trunks smiled at her. "That sounds fair to me."  
  
"Ok. Now get out of my room so I can get dressed will ya? And go snag the gravity room, k?" she asked mock sweetly. Trunks sighed and walked off, no doubt to go reserve the gravity room, that was, if Vegeta wasn't already in it.  
  
Erin opened the door to the gravity room, now fully dressed and ready to train. Her eyes fell upon Trunks, who was standing against a wall, waiting for her. He looked up at her as she entered.  
  
"Ready for some real training?" he asked.  
  
"Real training? What do you mean?"  
  
"Have you ever taken martial arts before?"  
  
"Sort of, but not a whole lot. Why?"  
  
"What were you doing yesterday then?" he asked, ignoring her own question.  
  
"I was working on my actual strength mostly."  
  
"I guess I'll be teaching you martial arts today."  
  
Erin smiled, this was going to be fun.  
  
Trunks stood above Erin who was, once again, on the ground panting. (not that!) "You have to execute the round house properly, otherwise I can block it without even trying. Right now you are not doing any damage to me, meanwhile you're tiring yourself out."  
  
Erin looked up at him from the ground. They had only been training for forty five minutes and already she was exhausted. They had worked on her form mostly, not even trying complicated things yet. "Can we." she stopped and panted a bit more. "Move on to something else yet? I'm never gonna learn if we keep doing the same boring things. I need something new for a little while."  
  
"Sure, we can do that. What would you like to work on?"  
  
"I want to learn how to block a ki attack."  
  
Trunks looked at her warily. "I don't think you're quite ready for that yet."  
  
"I can do it. Just give me a chance. So far I can only dodge them, but that's only barely when no one is trying to do any real damage to me."  
  
"Had a run in with Vegeta did you?" he asked, a smile on his face.  
  
"Yup, I sure did." Erin dragged herself up off the ground. She dusted herself off and looked back up to him. "So then, can you teach me how to deflect a ki blast?"  
  
"Maybe. But you're going to have to learn how to use ki yourself, and that could take a while."  
  
"Isn't there any other way to deflect some ki? It will take to long to learn how to use it right now," Erin half whined. Trunks got a half thoughtful look on his face.  
  
"Well, I can teach you how to deflect a small one with your arm, but you could get hurt."  
  
"I'll be fine, just teach me, will you?" Trunks nodded.  
  
"Okay, this will take a lot of concentration. You're going to have to put all of your focus on the arm that you're going to deflect it with. When it hits you it will feel like someone just threw a baseball at you, except it will also burn," Trunks tried to explain it clearly, hoping that she wouldn't get hurt.  
  
Erin nodded that she understood what he had said so far. "When it hits you, you want to use all of your strength and push it away from you, kind of using your own arm as a bat. Keep in mind this isn't the best way to deflect one, and it will hurt, but not as much as it would if it were to hit you in the stomach."  
  
Erin nodded again. "Okay, throw one at me," she said, a look of determination on her face. She guessed that she probably shouldn't block it with the palm of her hand, because that was much more sensitive than the rest of her arm. She would use her forearm. She watched Trunks closely as a small ki blast formed in his hand. He held it there, waiting for her to indicate when he should throw it. She gave him the signal and he threw it.  
  
Trunks aimed it towards her forearm so that she wouldn't have to worry about where it would hit. Erin raised her arm up just as the ki blast reached her. Then it hit her. Erin nearly screamed out in the pain it caused. It did burn, very badly. She wasn't used to this kind of burning. Erin pushed with all of her might against the thing, but couldn't throw it. She wasn't used to something pushing like this before.  
  
It was almost like a ball of water. It wanted to roll off either side of her arm and hit her body. She was having to keep it in the center of her arm, and most of her focus was on that instead of pushing it away. The thing began to roll again, but this time she couldn't stop it. It hit her square in the stomach and sent her flying backwards. Erin screamed as the thing burned her intensely and entered her body. That was most definitely going to leave a mark.  
  
Erin hit the ground hard and didn't even try to get up. Trunks was by her side in an instant. Erin didn't open her eyes, but could feel a shadow pass over her. She guessed that Trunks face was right above hers, but she still didn't open her eyes.  
  
"Erin? Are you alright?" She didn't respond, mostly because she didn't have the energy at the moment. 'Kami, I hope she's alright!' he thought. Erin gathered what little strength and spoke.  
  
"I'm alright Trunks." Erin didn't attempt to sit up yet, but opened her eyes. She could see concern on his face.  
  
"Let me see your stomach," he said, not taking no for an answer. Even if she had wanted to, she didn't have the energy to resist. She could feel Trunks tenderly lift her shirt up over her stomach. He stopped right below her breasts and examined her stomach.  
  
It was a sickly red where the ki blast had hit her. Her stomach almost looked raw from the burn. No blood seeped from it, but it looked moist. That blast had most definitely eaten away some of her skin. Erin sat up slowly and winced, sucking a sharp breath in through her teeth.  
  
"Don't get up, I'll carry you to one of the regeneration tanks." He bent over, ready to pick her up. Erin simply put a hand on his shoulder and used it to help herself stand up. Trunks stood up next to her.  
  
"Come on, let's go to one of the tanks."  
  
"No, I'll be fine. I'm not going to die from one little burn." Erin looked down at her arm, it was also burned, but not as badly as her stomach. Trunks looked at her, unsure if she was really okay. "Hit me with another one," she said quietly.  
  
Trunks's eyes widened. "Nani?! No! I'm not going to let you do that again until you've recovered!"  
  
Erin looked into his eyes. He could see determination in her eyes again and knew that she would not give up. Was this girl crazy?  
  
"Hit me with another one," she said again, more sternly this time.  
  
Trunks shook his head, defeated. "Fine, get ready."  
  
Erin got back into her previous stance and held up her arm again. Trunks formed another ki blast in his hand and waited for her to give him the signal. She did and he threw it at her.  
  
Erin nearly screamed again when it hit her already throbbing arm. This time, instead of worrying about it rolling off her arm, she put everything she had into her arm and pushed. The force was enough to send the ki blast towards Trunks. He easily deflected it and let it hit a wall, where it disappeared after a thud. Trunks looked at Erin, trying to see if she was still alright.  
  
Erin smiled at him, a look of triumph on her face just before she felt her legs go limp beneath her. Then things were black. Trunks ran over and caught her just before she hit the gravity room floor. That last one had used what little strength she had left in her.  
  
Erin awoke in something wet. It wasn't cold, nor was it hot. It was at a perfect temperature. She could feel the liquid slowly emptying from wherever she was. She recognized this. She was in a regeneration tank. That meant that....shit..Erin looked down at herself now that the liquid was emptied. She pulled the mask off of her face and sighed. Yup, she was naked.  
  
Erin looked around for any clothing that might be in her immediate vicinity. There were none. Erin stepped out of the tank and walked towards the door to the room. She opened it and peered outside carefully, searching to see if anybody was around. Nobody was there. Making her decision quickly, she threw open the door and stepped out into the hall, shivering at the breeze upon her nude body.  
  
Where in capsule corps was she? She regained her bearings quickly, remembering that she could be spotted by somebody at any moment. Erin recognized this hall. She just had to go down it and to the left to find her room. Erin took a deep breath and began to sprint down the hallway. This was easy when she wasn't wearing clothes. She should go running naked more often. Erin passed closed doorway after closed doorway. Just a little further. Erin looked ahead of her. Oh no, there was an open doorway.  
  
She didn't have time to stop before she reached it. She looked in the door as she passed and nearly had a heart attack. Trunks was looking out of his open door when she ran by. She just barely caught a look of shock on his face and the beginnings of a nosebleed before she passed. She also her a fragment of a though from him. 'Oh my Kami.' Erin bolted into her room and slammed the door. She dug around her drawers for something to wear quickly. She examined her burns before she got dressed, and was surprised to see that nothing was there, not even a scar.  
  
Erin got dressed and stepped back out of her room. She wondered how long she had been out of it, and how long it would be until everyone left. Erin timidly walked back to Trunks doorway and knocked on the inside frame.  
  
"Yes?" came a reply. Erin stepped into view and tried not to blush. She could see a slight blush on Trunks's features, but decided not to mention it.  
  
"When does everybody leave?" she asked nonchalantly, trying to pretend that he had not just seen her naked.  
  
"They already did."  
  
"Nani?! But I thought that you were going!"  
  
"I still am. I'll just meet them there later."  
  
"Oh." Erin looked down guiltily. "It's my fault that you couldn't leave yet isn't it?"  
  
Trunks smiled at her. "Don't worry about it. It won't be difficult for me to catch up to them. I probably have to leave now that you're up though."  
  
"Where are the twins?" Erin asked, remembering the two children that she was supposed to baby sit.  
  
"They're downstairs watching tv."  
  
"You left them alone?" Erin asked incredulously. "No wonder they wouldn't leave you alone to baby sit."  
  
Trunks scratched the back of his head nervously. Erin laughed at how Goku like this action looked on him. Erin began to walk downstairs, eager to meet the two children. She came the bottom of the stairs and saw the two kids, sitting happily in front of a tv. They turned around when they heard somebody enter.  
  
Trunks walked in front of Erin. "Miki, Aki, this is Erin. She will be watching you guys for a couple of days. You be nice to her ok?" he said. The twins nodded at him. Erin couldn't help but think that they were cute. She noticed that the girl, Miki, had black hair, and that the boy, Aki, had blond hair. She would have thought that it would be the other way around. Oh well, it didn't really matter.  
  
Erin walked forward, ready to greet the twins. She extended her hand so that she could shake hands with them, but was surprised when they leapt forward and hugged her, their tiny arms wrapping around her neck. At least they were tiny compared to what she was used to. She hadn't been around four year olds in a while.  
  
Erin hugged them back and looked back up towards Trunks, who was smiling down on them. "Sure are friendly," Erin stated.  
  
"Yeah, they sure are. I have to go, but here's my cell phone number in case you need to get a hold of me for something. Bye guys!" Trunks waved at them.  
  
Erin walked him to the door and closed it behind him. She wondered why he didn't have any suitcases with him, then she almost slapped herself on the forehead. Duh, capsules. She turned back to the twins.  
  
"Okay you guys. What kind of trouble do we want to get in to?"  
  
The twins smiled. "Yay! Erin is fun!" 


	6. Pudding and Noises

Erin grabbed Aki's arms and twirled him around. The child laughed loudly as he flew through the air. Erin danced to the loud music. The twins were having a lot of fun with her. They all began to sing along.  
  
Two-week vacation Costa Rica see amorica  
  
Young ladies oh, eureka! So many there to score-ica  
  
Cruise the ocean bars with some similar type fellows  
  
Little Latin lovelies drinking gin and Mello Yellos  
  
They screamed out the lyrics. Erin was happy that Aki and Miki didn't have a clue what the singer was talking about.  
  
Please get me a towel  
  
Mr. Tangerine Speedo  
  
You're all over town  
  
Tangerine la la la la la la la la El cha cha cha El cha cha cha  
  
Erin grabbed Miki in her other hand and twirled the small child around with Aki.  
  
Nowhere to go, nothing to do  
  
I'll be as gentle on you as tearless baby shampoo  
  
Back to my bungalow with flesh tone kimonos  
  
Ah, come a little closer feel the "Sting" of my "Bono", no no, no no  
  
Erin sweatdropped when the singer said that last line. It was a VERY good thing that they kids didn't know what the singer was talking about, otherwise she would get an earful from Juuhachi Gou.  
  
The talk of the town  
  
Mr. Tangerine Speedo  
  
How you get around  
  
In your tangerine la la la la la la la la  
  
Erin laughed out loud with the kids as they al twirled around. She had tried to teach them how to swing dance, but they quickly got distracted with twirling around.  
  
Little Latin lovelies will love to drink gin  
  
And Mello Yello in my bungalow  
  
Lovin' me  
  
Tangerine la la la la la la la la  
  
All the French girls go "Zut alour, no no no no, zut alour, no no"  
  
Coming at the target, you're as straight as Magellan  
  
If you've got a secret weapon, well you're as sure as hell ain't telling  
  
Cause your mouth made an offer that the bodies cannot veto  
  
No woman can resist a man who looks good in a speedo  
  
Erin put the children down and began to swing dance again. She grabbed Aki and Miki and did the butterfly with each of them in turn, trying not to fall over when she had to arc her back, in one part of the move where they spun, so that she could reach the short things. Fuckin' get me a towel  
  
Mr. Tangerine Speedo  
  
You're all over town  
  
Tangerine la la la la la la la la  
  
Talk of the town  
  
Mr. Tangerine Speedo  
  
How you get around  
  
In your tangerine la la la la la la la la  
  
The kids put everything they had into the dance now that the song was almost over. They had already listened to it three times in a row, and Erin had told them that this was the last time before they switched to another song. She loved this song too. Tangerine Speedo by Caviar was probably one of her favorite songs.  
  
Little Latin lovelies will love to drink gin  
  
And Mello Yello in my bungalow  
  
La la la la la la la la  
  
La la la la la la la la  
  
La la la la la la la la  
  
Zut alour, no, zut alour, no no, zut alour, no no no no no...  
  
Erin picked up both of the children in either arm and threw them up into the air on the last cord of the song. She caught them with little difficulty and dropped down onto the couch with them still in her arms. Erin waited to start the next song until she could catch her breath. The children, on the other hand, seemed to have endless reserves of energy. A thought struck her.  
  
"Hey guys, let's take a break, okay? So we can-" she was cut off by the whining of the kids.  
  
"Noooooo! I don't wanna stop Erin!"  
  
Erin held up a finger at them. "Let me finish," she scolded lightly, knowing very well that she had intended for them to interrupt her so that she could surprise them. "I was going to say, let's take a break so we can make some pudding. How does that sound?" Erin looked at them, a large smile on her face.  
  
The kids' eyes widened as they looked at each other then turned back to Erin. They jumped up and screamed. "YAAAAYYYY!!!!!"  
  
Erin turned around and looked back at them. "Race ya to the kitchen!" They all smiled and ran as fast as they could towards the kitchen. Erin turned a corner sharply, in the lead, and let out a yelp when her sock covered feet met tile when she was trying to make a sharp turn at high speeds. Erin slid across the kitchen, trying desperately to keep her balance. A loud thud was heard as she tripped over one chair and landed in another with her legs draped over its arm. The kids ran into the kitchen just in time to see her trip over the chair.  
  
She was sprawled out over the chair, a dazed look on her face. Erin looked at the kids as they covered their mouths, trying not to let a giggle. Erin busted out into her own laughter, silently giving the twins permission to laugh. Erin stood slowly, careful not to fall over again, and walked over to one of the cupboards. She opened it and searched around until her eyes landed upon a box of instant pudding. Erin gathered what they would need to make it and began to mix the powder with the correct amount of milk.  
  
She looked over at Miki and Aki's faces, they were watching the pudding intently as she stirred it. Erin allowed a short laugh to escape her lips. These kids were cute. Usually she didn't take to children so easily, but these ones didn't have attitudes. Erin could get used to the dbz world. Erin thought while she stirred the pudding. Why was Mirai here? Did his mom die? No, probably not. Maybe he was here to help with something, but nothing was currently going on. Oh well, she would ask him the next time she saw him. Erin walked over to the fridge and placed the sweet delight inside, waiting for it to solidify.  
  
Erin turned back to Aki and Miki, who had disappointed looks on their faces. She smiled at them. "Don't worry, it should be done in about five minutes."  
  
Their faces lit up again as they went running around the house. Those kids really had far too much energy. Erin decided that she would wait in the kitchen and just let them run around the house for awhile. Erin leaned up against the kitchen table and sighed. Babysitting was a lot of work, but she enjoyed it when the kids were still small enough to goof off with her. They worst child you could baby sit would be a twelve year old boy. They were the worst because they thought that they were God's gift to the world.  
  
Erin waited patiently, barely moving a muscle. She began to tap her foot lightly, humming a tune to herself. Then she heard something. Erin froze. That noise wasn't made by one of the twins. She didn't know how they would make that noise. It sounded like somebody sweeping gravel across a dirt road with a push broom in short bursts. A sort of grinding along with a swishing. The noise was short, but happened about five times. Erin still didn't move. What the hell was that noise?  
  
She decided to check on the kids. Maybe they were making that noise and she just didn't realize it. Erin walked back into the living room and looked around for them. They were sitting in front of the television, flipping through the channels. Erin's eyes narrowed as she heard the noise again. The twins definitely hadn't made the noise, and it wasn't coming from the tv.  
  
Erin looked more closely at them. They didn't even seem to hear the noise. "Hey, Miki, Aki, did you guys hear that weird noise?"  
  
They turned to her. "What noise?" Miki asked.  
  
"It sounded kind of like a weird grinding noise."  
  
"I didn't hear anything," Miki said again.  
  
Erin turned to Aki. "What about you?" He shook his head no.  
  
There was the noise again. It was then that Erin noticed it. It wasn't really a noise. She could hear it inside her head. Now she knew that a man was close. But what kind of man would be thinking about a noise like THAT? Suddenly a thought dawned on Erin. Was Trunks playing a trick on her?  
  
He knew that she would be able to hear it inside her head and was probably trying to freak her out. The noise seemed to be coming from the kitchen the strongest, so Erin walked towards it. She stepped inside and smiled. She heard the noise again. "Very funny, Trunks."  
  
She heard it again. "You can stop it now Trunks. I already know that it's you." Erin walked further into the kitchen. The noise seemed to get louder as she walked closer to the window. Erin could hear the noise coming from the window that was behind her. She smiled to herself. Trunks was right outside the window. Or who ever it was playing this prank was right outside the window. Erin turned around quickly, expecting to see somebody there.  
  
The smile dropped from her face when her eyes met nothing but a view of outside. Erin walked closer to the window. She could hear the noise right there. It was RIGHT outside the window. Erin stopped directly in front of the window, her face only an inch away from the glass. The noise changed, it got more intense and had a higher pitch mixed in with the grinding. Erin's face contorted into fear as she saw two streams of steam on the window. Steam streams that were made when somebody breathed directly onto a window.  
  
Erin jumped back from the window, never tearing her eyes away from it. The streams slowly disappeared. Then new ones were formed. Something was breathing on the window, but she couldn't see anything. She couldn't sense a ki either. She had learned the basics of sensing ki and there was none. Erin heard something move outside the window. She remained where she was, frozen by fear. The thing was moving around the house. 'Dear God,' she thought, 'It's looking for a way in."  
  
Erin's eyes darted to the door. The unlocked door. She couldn't move. She could tell that whatever was there was close to the door. Probably only ten feet away from it, but she couldn't move.  
  
"Erin?" came a small voice. Her head snapped around to see Aki standing in the doorway. "Erin?" he said again. "What's wrong?"  
  
Erin ignored his question and turned her head towards the door again. Aki had snapped her out of her terror long enough that she could think. Erin used all of her strength to push off against the floor and run as fast as she could towards the door. She was only five feet away from it. She could see its breath on the glass above the door. Erin looked at the handle as she ran towards it.  
  
The handle twitched, as though something had touched it lightly. Erin ran faster. The handle began to turn. Erin reached the door just as the handle turned all the way down. All somebody had to do now was push on the door to open it. Erin grabbed the handle and jerked it back up. Something pushed down on it again while she was holding it. When the handle didn't move it pushed down harder and slammed itself into the door. Erin braced the door and reached her free hand up to lock it. She flipped the metal bolt and jumped away from the door.  
  
Erin watched the door as the thing continued to slam itself into it. What the hell was out there? She could still hear the noises from it inside her head. Was it human?  
  
"Erin?!" a small voice asked desperately. She could tell that the owner of the voice was on the verge of crying. Erin turned around to look at Aki who, she could tell, was terrified.  
  
Erin ran towards him and picked him up without slowing down, running into the living room with him in her arms. She though quickly about all of the entrances into the house. She locked the door in the living room and ran over to pick Miki up off the ground. After she had grabbed the girl she began to make her way upstairs, going into every room and locking all of the windows. Erin was in one of the spare bedrooms when she heard the sound of breaking glass. She froze, both children in her arms. Erin turned her head slowly to the staircase. She could hear something moving inside the house.  
  
Erin turned and bolted into one of the rooms, shutting the door behind her and locking it. Erin set one of the kids down as she looked for an escape route from the room if the need arose. The child clung tightly to her pants. Erin looked around the room. The only thing was a window. She ran over to it and opened it, looking down. There was no way out of this room unless she was able to jump a good thirty feet without getting hurt.  
  
Erin shut the window and turned towards the door. She could hear the thing right outside the door. How did it know where she was?! Maybe it could smell her. Erin looked over to a small vanity and picked up a bottle of perfume. If it could smell her then this would muddle its senses a bit. Erin put the other child down and walked over to the door, motioning for them to stay there. Erin shut her eyes tightly and bent over, placing her hand next to the crack under the door. Erin sprayed out the contents of the bottle and waited.  
  
There wasn't a sound. The smell change hadn't effected the creature. She was going to panic in about two seconds if she didn't find a way to lose the thing. She tried to calm herself down. She couldn't panic, not when she had to take care of two four year olds. Another thought struck her. Maybe it could hear them. It most certainly wasn't following them by sight, otherwise it wouldn't have known that she was in the room behind a closed door. Erin thought quickly about how to get it to follow another noise. She remembered a game that she had played with the twins earlier.  
  
Quickly reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small suction cup dart gun. Erin turned and motioned for the children to be quiet. They seemed to get the idea as she walked up to door again, this time putting the dart gun under the crack. She noticed that the noises the thing made changed whenever she got closer to it. Maybe it COULD hear her approach.  
  
Erin put the nozzle under the door and fired it off, hearing a pop as the thing hit the wall. The creature didn't move. Erin froze. How in the hell did it know where they were? Erin though about all of the possibilities.  
  
She jumped when the thing banged itself against the door. The kids yelped in fear. Erin looked around the room again, searching for an escape. Then Erin looked up. She remembered that this was not only a house, but an actual office building as well. There was ventilation. Erin ran over to the bed and stood on it. She didn't even have to tell the twins to follow her. They were up on the bed with her in an instant.  
  
The thing banged against the door again, this time harder. The door was going to give any second. Erin reached up and hit one of the ceiling tiles, causing it to become dislodged, so that she could pull it out. Erin dropped the thing to the floor and grabbed Miki, shoving her up inside the thing. After Miki was safely inside the ventilation Erin grabbed Aki and shoved up behind Miki. Erin jumped up and grabbed the inside of the ventilation, hauling herself up into it as fast as she could.  
  
Just as her last leg was pulled up inside she heard the door give. The children screamed when they heard the door crash to the floor.  
  
"Hey guys, it's okay, just try to calm down," Erin tried to sooth them, despite her own terror. She guessed that the twins could tell how afraid she was, but she tried not to show it. "Okay guys," she continued," just keep on crawling forward, I will tell you to take right or left. Okay?"  
  
The children nodded and crawled forward. Erin let out a yelp as the ventilation shaft shook. The kids began to scream. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise." They continued crawling forward until the shaft shook violently and fell to the ground. Erin rolled out of the wreckage, checking to make sure that Miki and Aki were following her. They were in what appeared to be Bulma's bedroom. Erin quickly ran over to them bed, knocking out another tile, and shoved the kids back up into the ventilation. Erin looked around, making sure that the thing wasn't there yet, not that she could see it.  
  
Her eyes fell upon a cell phone laying on a desk. Erin ran over and grabbed in, hopping back up onto the bed and up into the ventilation. "Hurry guys. Go as fast as you can." The kids crawled as quickly as they could in the small space. It wasn't long before they felt the massive thuds in the shaft again. The kids cried out again, they were beyond terrified. Erin stopped and sat down in the shaft. The kids stopped and looked at her questioningly.  
  
Erin reached into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. She turned on the cell phone and dialed the number quickly. She could hear the creature. It was a ways away from them. It didn't seem to be entering the room that they were above. It was in another room. Erin guessed that it was trying to tear down the ventilation again. Erin listened to the phone ring. "Come on! Pick up!" she screamed into the cell phone.  
  
There was another loud thud on the shaft. It was shaking more, which meant that it would give way any second. Erin's heart leapt when she heard someone pick up on the other line.  
  
"Hello?" Trunks voice asked.  
  
"Trunks! THERE'S SOMETHING IN-" Erin was cut off as another thud shook the entire shaft, and this time it fell. Erin screamed loudly, hearing her own screamed echoed by the two kids'. Erin fell to the ground and rolled away from the shaft, which had fallen through the ceiling. She looked at the kids and seeing that they were okay, looked for the phone.  
  
"NO!" she cried, crawling over to the crushed object. She began to cry. She didn't know what was going on and their only hope was just crushed beneath the heavy ventilation shaft.  
  
Trunks turned away from the conversation that he was having with Videl and Gohan when his phone rang. He wondered what Erin wanted, since she was the only one that would be calling him at the moment. He answered it.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Trunks! THERE'S SOMETHING IN-" Trunks heard Erin's voice cut off as there was a loud thud and then a crashing noise. He heard her scream. He could also hear two children screaming in the background. Their screams were not ones of rough house or play, but ones of terror. Trunks's eyes widened.  
  
Gohan and Videl turned to him. "What's wrong?" Gohan asked.  
  
Trunks stood. "Something's wrong with Erin and the kids!" Everyone in the room turned to him. Juuhachi Gou and Krillin also stood.  
  
"What is it?!" Krillin asked. "What happened to our kids?!!"  
  
"I don't know! Erin said there's something in, and then I heard a loud crash and them screaming."  
  
Vegeta turned to them. "There's something in?" he asked. He got a thoughtful look on his face. "There's something in the house," he said, a very serious expression on his face. Everyone's eyes got wide when he finished Erin's sentence. Everyone was out the door in a heartbeat and took off into the air.  
  
Erin scrambled to her feet and grabbed the kids. She had no idea where the thing was, and didn't really want to know. She ran down the hallway, searching for a room that they could hide in. She didn't know how this thing could fine them. Echo location? No, it wasn't that either, it wouldn't have known where she was through the walls if that was the case. Erin heard it. It was right behind them. Erin ran faster. The thing was going faster now too. Erin screamed out as she fell a sharp pain in her back and something warm trickling down it. With speed borne of terror and a new shot of adrenaline, she ran into one of the rooms and slammed the door behind her, locking it.  
  
She knew that the lock and door would never hold, but at least it would buy her some time. Erin looked around. What was this room? It had computers and numerous electronics scattered around the entire thing. It looked like one giant computer. Erin noticed that there was a space against the wall behind a computer on the ground that someone could hide behind. Erin put them down and told them to hide behind it. There was only room for them.  
  
"What about you?"  
  
"I'll be fine. I said I wouldn't let anything happen to you."  
  
The kids looked at her for a moment then ran behind the computer and hid. Erin stood in the middle of the room, hoping that there would be somewhere that she could hide. There was none. Erin stood in the center of the room and sighed, completely defeated. She reached a hand tenderly up to her back. There were four deep gashes in it, all of them oozing blood. She was bleeding profusely and had nowhere to hide.  
  
Maybe if the thing had her it would be satisfied. She stood there, in front of the door, waiting for the thing to break it down. Sure enough she heard the thuds and the door begin to splinter. She waited there, her head bowed, ready for death. The door fell to the floor. Erin looked up. Just as she though, she could see nothing there, but she could hear it. She was surprised when it didn't attack her. It just stayed at the doorway.  
  
The sounds it made changed. They sounded..........confused? Erin stared in its direction, wondering why on earth it would be confused. She was in plain sight, in the middle of a lab. If it could find her behind doors why couldn't it see her now. How did it know where she was before?  
  
FLASH  
  
Erin sat in her biology class, bored nearly to tears. The teacher kept on droning on about sharks.  
  
"Sharks can tell when you're in the water even if they can't see you. Every body gives off electricity. The sharks can sense that electricity."  
  
FLASH  
  
Erin's eyes widened. She never thought that biology class would help her. The thing could sense their bodily electricity, and she was standing in the middle of a lab. A lab full of electrical things. It had computers and things that she didn't even know what they were in there. There were things plugged into every outlet available. The thing couldn't see them now. They could hide in this room.  
  
But how long would the creature wait there? There was no place for them to get food or water in here, no place for them to go to the bathroom. Erin listened as the thing moved away from the doorway and down the hall. She could hear it running. She heard a crashing sound. It sounded like breaking glass. Erin jumped at the sound. She froze. It was quiet now. She didn't hear that weird grinding noise anymore. The kids peered at her from behind the computer.  
  
Miki and Aki let out a cry. Erin turned around quickly, wondering if they were okay. They were both staring at her, neither appearing to be in any immediate danger. Erin calmed down a bit.  
  
"Why did you guys do that? I thought you were hurt."  
  
"We're not, but you are!"  
  
Erin had temporarily forgotten about the throbbing in her back. She had been to concentrated on the creature to notice the wound much. Now that all of her focus was on it, she was reminded of exactly how much it hurt. Erin tried to calm her ragged breathing. Blood had run down her back, soaking her shirt, and running down her legs, forming a pool of it on the ground. Her vision blurred. Erin reached a hand up to her back, now able to examine the wound more thoroughly. She almost passed out when she felt her spine, with her back slashed open. It was deep enough that she could actually feel the bone of her spine.  
  
Erin fell to her knees and winced at the pain it caused her back. Something wasn't right about the cuts. She knew they were bleeding quite a bit, but not enough to make her feel as weak as she did already. Erin ignored the weird feeling inside her head and stood up again when she heard another noise. The front door was being pounded on. She heard the door fly open, ripped completely from its hinges, and hit a wall. She motioned for the kids to hide again behind the computer.  
  
She prepared herself for another encounter with the thing. After had thought it was all over. Oh well, at least she would save Miki and Aki's life through giving her own. Erin stopped when she heard voices. The voices of Trunks, Vegeta, Gohan, Videl, Juuhachi Gou, and Krillin.  
  
"Erin! ERIN?!" she heard them all calling. Erin sighed with relief and raised her voice, calling out to them.  
  
"I'm in the lab!" she screamed it as loud as she could. She heard a few gasps as the others were, no doubt, seeing the ventilation that had crashed through the roof. Erin heard the footsteps running towards her. Erin saw Juuhachi Gou appear in the doorway first. Erin watched as her eyes swept the room frantically, looking for her children. Miki and Aki ran out of their hiding place and over to their mother, who still stood in the doorway. She bent down and hugged them tightly, picking them up. Everyone else appeared in the doorway, looking relieved that the twins were okay, then casting their questioning gaze over to Erin.  
  
"What happened?" Trunks asked, stepping forward.  
  
Erin tried to clear the quickly thickening haze from her mind. "I'm not sure," she said finally, trying to blink the blurriness out of her eyes. "We were making pudding and I heard something." Erin stopped, taking a moment to breath, trying to ignore the pain in her back. For some reason it had begun to burn fiercely, as though she had poured salt into it. "It was weird. I heard it in my head, the way I do with your thoughts." Erin stopped. Why couldn't she hear the guy's thoughts anymore?  
  
She didn't care to take the energy to think about that. "It was a weird sound, like gravel being pushed with a broom, but when I got close I could hear a high pitched noise mixed in with it. And I.....I....." Erin stopped again, her vision becoming more blurry. She swallowed and forced her mind to clear again. "It broke in somehow, through one of the windows I think. I grabbed the twins and ran. I tried to lock all of the doors before it came in. I hid in a room, but it knew where I was. I tried spraying perfume to mess up its senses, but that's not how it was following us. It wasn't following us by sound either. It could sense our bodily electricity...." Erin was having trouble speaking. It seemed that everyone now noticed this too.  
  
"What is wrong, woman?" Vegeta asked, stepping into the room.  
  
Erin didn't want to worry them, she was sure that she would be fine. "It's nothing, I'm fine." Vegeta walked up to her and turned her around. Everyone's eyes widened when they saw her blood soaked shirt. Vegeta lifted her shirt up carefully so that he could see her back. Everyone could see her spine. Eyes followed the trail of blood running down her back to the large pool of it on the ground.  
  
Vegeta looked more closely at the wound. It seemed that on the edges of the actual cuts it was turning black. "What did this?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know. I couldn't see the thing. It was invisible. I could only hear it."  
  
Erin felt her vision blur, but this time she didn't have the energy to try to clear it, she simply let the darkness take her.  
  
Vegeta caught the girl as she went limp in his arms. Trunks ran forward and grabbed Erin from Vegeta.  
  
"Follow me," Vegeta said, leading Trunks to one of the rooms with healing facilities. Everyone left Trunks and Vegeta to take care of the girl, since most of them didn't know what to do to help her.  
  
Trunks set her down on her stomach on a metal table. Vegeta grabbed a syringe and filled it with a clear liquid. He seemed to be in deep concentration.  
  
"What's wrong with her? She lost a lot of blood, but not that much."  
  
"It appears that whatever cut her had poison on it."  
  
Trunks's eyes widened.  
  
"What kind of poison?"  
  
"I'm not sure. It looks to be an unnatural poison, but not synthetic." Trunks wondered how Vegeta knew so much about poison. Seeming to read his mind, Vegeta answered.  
  
"I've been around that woman too long."  
  
Trunks guessed that he meant Bulma. "Get over here and help me!" Vegeta yelled. "If this isn't treated she will most likely die within a couple of hours."  
  
Trunks ran over to Erin's side. "What do I do?"  
  
"You need to try to bring her back to consciousness."  
  
Trunks tried to think of something that would wake her up. He leaned down towards her ear and spoke. "Erin. Get up."  
  
That didn't seem to work much. A though struck him. She passed out because she had no energy, he simply had to give her some of his. Trunks focused hi ki and sent some toward her. He wasn't sure how much he would need, so he sent her quite a bit.  
  
It seemed that he gave her a bit too much as she jumped up on the table, her eyes wide. It was as though someone had just given her a shot full of adrenaline.  
  
Erin jumped up as a sudden surge of energy moved through her body. She wasn't sure where it came from, but it felt foreign to her body. Erin looked around frantically only to be met with the eyes of Vegeta and Trunks. Now she remembered what happened. As realization dawned on her face, Vegeta spoke to her.  
  
"Yes, that's right, now sit down so that we can tend to your wounds!" he sounded slightly annoyed at her sudden energy. Erin sat down on the cold table and looked at Vegeta. He was holding a syringe. Her eyes widened as she shook her head from side to side.  
  
"No......no shots for me. I'll be just fine...."  
  
Vegeta scowled at her. "You just endured and attack that could have cost you your life, and deep wounds to your back, I'm sure that you can handle a shot you twit. All you have to do is get the shot then go into the regeneration tank, after that you'll be fine."  
  
Erin shook her head again. Vegeta looked at her. "Fine. Do you feel strange at all. Something different from the cuts?" Vegeta asked, his arms crossed. Erin nodded.  
  
"That would be the poison from those cuts on your back. If I don't give you the shot you will most likely be dead within the hour. But it doesn't matter to me. Don't take the shot." Vegeta left the syringe on the metal table and walked out of the room, no doubt to get something to eat. Erin looked down at the syringe with trepidation. She looked to her left, noticing Trunks for the first time. He smiled at her and picked up the syringe.  
  
"Don't worry, it won't hurt."  
  
Erin closed her eyes and waited for him to finish. It was over in a second and she sighed with relief. The cool liquid now running through her veins seemed to ease some of her pain immediately.  
  
"Now you need to get undressed and get into the regen tank." Trunks turned around politely, waiting for her to undress. Erin reached an arm up to pulled her shredded shirt off and sucked in a sharp breath in pain. Great, just great. She wasn't going to be able to get her shirt and pants off.  
  
"Trunks?" she said sheepishly.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I, um, I can't get my clothes off...."  
  
Trunks turned around and looked at her blushing face. He smiled at her. "I'll help you." Erin blushed a deeper shade of crimson and he pulled her shirt carefully over her head. Erin unbuttoned her own pants and sat on the table while he helped to pull them off of her. She was now in her bra and underwear. Now they both blushed.  
  
"I'll, um close my eyes and take them off," he said sheepishly. Erin smiled, glad that she wasn't the only one embarrassed. Trunks closed his eyes and reached around her back, unhooking her bra and sliding it off. He blushed an almost tomato red even though his eyes were closed. Erin was able to slide her own underwear off. Trunks walked in front of her, her hand held in his, as he led her to the tank.  
  
Erin stepped inside and waited while Trunks pushed some buttons, turning the thing on. She slid the mask down over her face and waited for the container to close and fill up with liquid. It was almost cool being in one of the things while she was conscious, that was, after she got over the claustrophobia of the whole situation. As the tank filled she felt sleep tugging at the back of her mind. She gave into it quickly, letting her pain fade away along with her consciousness. 


End file.
